I'm very sorry for such a long absence. I am now barely managing to post once a month, but as soon as I can, I will resume blogging more often.
This blog post is about study guides - how to make them, and what to include.
Firstly, study guides must be comprehensive, and very often we have multiple materials to take information from (lectures, tutorials, videos, textbook, etc.). The goal of the study guide is to include all this information into one file, while being as concise as possible.
A good study guide is being prepared as you go through your course, adding unit by unit. However, it still makes good sense to make them prior to your exam as well.
Here is what your study guide should include:
- definitions
- concepts
- examples (not all; just 1 per each type of concept)
- solutions
- shortcuts to solutions
- diagrams
- tables
- concept maps
- corrections from last tests (or practice examples)
- chapter (or page) numbers
Short-cuts are actually extremely helpful! For instance you were doing some practice tests before your chemistry midterm, and you've identified a few similar questions on each of those tests. A VERY good idea is to determine a general procedure with some short-cuts on these questions. Not only you are forced to understand the concept better, but it will also save you a lot of time during the exam!
Your study guide can be organized in different ways:
- typed
- hand-written
- using blank or lined paper of different sizes
- it can also be in a notebook
I recommend it typed and on a blank paper. My reasoning for that, is that if you will make mistake, or will have to add or remove something, your study guide won't be messy. Same reasoning with blank paper - it will appear cleaner.
It's also a wonderful idea to include a table of contents after you finish your study guide. It helps with several things:
1) you won't be flipping back and forth, dirtying the paper
2) you'll save yourself some time
Good Luck!
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